I didn't grow up with much. My family was working-class, and in our house hard work, honesty, and lending your neighbor a hand weren't slogans. They were just how you lived. Those habits have shaped everything since: my career, my family, and now this campaign.

 

Built from the floor up

My first job in the printing industry was running a press. I didn't have a four-year degree. What I had was a willingness to show up, learn the work, and own the result.

Over thirty-plus years that took me from operator to estimating, then into department, production, and plant management. Manufacturing teaches you fast: the schedule has to be met, the budget has to hold, the equipment has to keep running, and when something breaks, the question is never "who do we blame" but "how do we fix it." I've carried that habit into everything I've done since.

 

Starting my own business

Sixteen years ago I founded On Target Ammunition. Like most people who start a business, I had a plan, a strong work ethic, and a promise to treat customers right.

Running it has taught me what no classroom could. Every dollar I spend belongs to a customer who earned it first. Payroll comes due whether the month was good or bad. Today we serve customers nationwide, including hundreds of law enforcement agencies, and that work has given me a real appreciation for the people who keep our communities safe. It's also shaped how I think about government spending: if it's not your money, you owe the people it belongs to an even higher standard of care.

 

Serving the community

I currently serve on the LSR-7 School Board, one of the largest and most respected districts in Missouri. School board work means weighing the needs of parents, students, teachers, and taxpayers all at once, and making the call that serves the community for the long haul, not just the next meeting. It's given me hands-on experience with public budgets, long-range planning, and being accountable to the people I serve.

I also serve on the Lee's Summit Board of Aeronautical Commissioners, helping provide responsible oversight of an asset that matters to our local economy.

 

Family

Family has always been the center of my life, and like a lot of families, mine has known both joy and hardship. The hardest stretch came when my first wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer at a young age. Caring for my family and helping my children through that loss changed me. It taught me what resilience really costs, and it gave me a lot more patience for the struggles other families are quietly carrying.

Today I'm grateful for my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, who remind me every day why the long-term decisions we make in this county actually matter.

 

Why this, why now

I'm running because the decisions made at the county level, your property taxes, your roads, your public safety, reach every household in District 6, and right now too many residents have lost faith that those decisions are being made well. I think I can help restore some of that trust, with the kind of practical, accountable leadership I've spent my whole career practicing.